Method of preparing a metal sheet with a canvas textured surface



June 1953 A. MESSINA 2,840,487

METHOD. PREPARING A METAL SHEET WITH A CANVAS TEXTURED SURFACE Filed June 29, 1954 Le'onl AMTmu/y Mess/MA Imwxron;

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United States Patent METHGD F PREPARING A METAL SHEET WITH A CANVAS TEXTURED SURFACE Leon Anthony Messina, Bellerose, N. Y.

Application June 29, 1954, Serial No. 440,063

1 Claim. (Cl. 117-10) This invention relates to the art of coated panels and particularly concerns a metal sheet having a canvas textured surface and a method for preparing the same.

The painting of a picture in oils, water colors, tempera, casein paints and the like on a conventional can-.

vas surface necessitates careful preparation by use of special adhesives and fillers and of the surface, includes a procedure which is both difficult and time consuming. Considerable skill is required to accomplish this task satisfactorily. Canvas properly prepared for this purpose commercially is expensive and not generally available. One major difficulty inherent in all such prepared canvas is that there is no control over the canvas texture. Also such prepared canvas is not rigid and requires a special backing or mounting to support the canvas.

The present invention overcomes all the difficulties and disadvantages mentioned and others inherent in prior art methods of preparing canvas for painting. Basically the invention includes a rigid sheet or panel of some material such as aluminum, although other metals may be used as well as sheets of plastic, fiber and composition material. Aluminum is preferred because it is relatively inexpensive and abundant, and is smooth, rigid and permanent in form.

It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide a rigid sheet having a permanent textured surface adapted for serving as a base for a painting prepared with paints including pigments carried in 2. vehicle of oil, water, or the like.

It is a further object to provide a smooth metal sheet with a textured surface resembling that of canvas.

It is a further object to provide a method for preparing a textured surface on rigid panel to serve as a base for a painting made with oil or water paints.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken together with the drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a textured sheet or panel with portions of successive layers exposed. The thickness of the several layers is shown on an enlarged scale.

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 show successive steps in preparing a textured surface on a sheet according to the invention.

The textured panel shown in Fig. 1 consists of a sheet 10 of a metal, preferably aluminum, about .03 of an inch in thickness. The sheet 10 has a roughened surface 14 obtained by frosting, graining, sandblasting and the like. Over the roughened surface is applied a priming coat 11 of cadmium yellow paint. A fairly heavy coat 12 of zinc white oil paint covers the coating 11. This coat 12 is impressed with a canvas texture 13 in a manner to be described with reference to Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

In Fig. 2 is shown the sheet 10 which has been grained on one surface and sprayed with cadmium yellow. By means of a brush B a coat 12 of zinc white oil paint in a fairly heavy consistency is applied over the grained surface after the cadmium yellow has dried.

While the zinc white isstill wet the entire sheet is immersed in a flat bottom tray T of water W as shown in a Fig. 3. A rubber roller 15 carrying a canvas sleeve 16 of any desired texture is now rolled over the sheet 10 while it is still in the water to impress the texture of the canvas on the zinc White coating as shown in Fig. 4. The sheet is then removed from the water and allowed suflicient time to dry out thoroughly which will be of the order of two or three days, when the textured sheet will be ready for use.

The canvas sleeve should be lightly but completely coated with wax and dried thoroughly to prevent absorption of any of the paint by the roller. The water in the tray further serves to prevent any of the zinc white layer from coming off on to the roller. Since the zinc white paint and water are immiscible the zinc white retains a clear impression of canvas and loses no paint to the roller.

The dried textured sheet may now be used as the base for a painting in oils, water colors and the like. If an oil paint is used, the painting may be varnished after the paint has dried. The aluminum sheet may now be placed in a suitable oven to bake it. This procedure causes absorption of the oil and varnish into the roughened aluminum surface producing a permanent bond of the several layers. If the textured sheet is to be used for water colors, casein paints and the like a coating of gum arabic should be applied to the textured sheet to serve as a base for the water color or water paint.

The textured sheet above described has the manifest advantage over canvas in that it can be baked at high temperature to fix and bond the several paint layers while canvas cannot be so treated without burning, scorching or charring which of course weakens or destroys the canvas. A further advantage obtained is that the tinished baked painting will not chip, crack or buckle. It is durable and substantially permanent in nature. The textured surface has the appearance and feel of cloth or canvas. When a painting in oils is made as described above on a textured metal sheet prepared in accordance with the invention, it will be found to have superior transparency and brilliance as compared with a comparable painting on canvas.

The foregoing illustrates the broad principles of the invention and it will be understood that modifications and variations may be incorporated therein Within the broad spirit of the invention and the broad scope of the claim.

I claim:

A method of making a canvas textured sheet adapted to provide a surface for artists paintings, comprising the steps of roughening one surface of an imperforate aluminum sheet, applying to said roughened surface a priming coat of cadmium yellow paint and drying said priming coat, applying to said priming coat a coating of zinc white oil paint of relatively heavy consistency, immersing said sheet in a water bath while said zinc white coating is still soft and before it has set, pressing a canvas covered roller against said soft zinc White coating while the sheet is still immersed in the water bath and rolling said roller upon said sheet while pressing it against said soft zinc white coating to form a canvas impression therein, and finally removing said sheet from the water bath and drying the zinc White coating to set the canvas impression therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,334,879 Zinser Mar. 23, 1920 1,472,884 Pater Nov. *6, 1923 1,481,433 Riesinger Jan. 22, .1924 2,670,554 Francis Mar. 2, 1954 

